TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The first woman of color to go to space will be visiting Terre Haute as she has been tapped to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree during Rose-Hulman’s spring commencement ceremony.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will present Mae Jemison M.D. with an honorary degree in engineering during the May 25 ceremony.
Jemison is a former NASA Space Shuttle astronaut, entrepreneur, engineer, physician, educator, and humanitarian.
“Dr. Jemison has led an amazing and well-rounded life – as an engineer, social scientist, dancer and choreographer, and medical doctor – and will inspire our Class of 2024 members along with our faculty and staff to use their talents to make a difference in the world,” said Rose-Hulman President Robert A. Coons. “Dr. Jemison is someone who can provide great insight to the Institute as we establish the groundwork for our Advancing by Design long-term strategic plan, especially in areas of sustainability and entrepreneurship.”
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Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first black female to become an astronaut candidate, sits in the commander’s seat aboard a Space Shuttle trainer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Aug. 24, 1987. (AP Photo) -
Mae Jemison, M.D., the first black female crew member of the space shuttle program, makes a point during a news conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Aug. 11, 1992, as Mamoru Mohri, first Japanese crew member, listens. Both will be aboard mission STS-47, Spacelab-J, scheduled for later this month, a cooperative mission between the U.S. and Japan to conduct experiments in life sciences and materials processing. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) -
STS-47 Mission Specialists Mae Jemison, left, Jan Davis, center, and Payload Commander Mark Lee wave to photographers as they leave the operations and checkout building on the way to launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Sept. 12, 1992. Jemison is the first black woman to ride on the shuttle and Davis and Lee are the first married couple to fly together. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove) -
Astronauts Mae Jemison, right, and Jan Davis, in background, work in the Spacelab of the space shuttle Endeavour on Sunday, Sept. 13, 1992. Jemison is the first black woman in space. (AP Photo/Donna Carson) -
Astronaut Mae Jemison stows equipment after an experiment in the Spacelab aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, Sept. 14, 1992. The suit worn by Jemison is part of an experiment to minimize space motion sickness without the use of drugs. (AP Photo) -
Astronaut Mae Jemison works on an experiment with frogs in the Spacelab aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, Sept. 14, 1992. Jemisons experiment is designed to study how frog eggs develop in weightlessness and on the ground. (AP Photo) -
Astronaut Mae Jemison works on an experiment aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, Sept. 15, 1992. Jemison is working on an experiment using South African clawed frogs who were injected with hormones to induce ovulation. (AP Photo) -
Astronaut Mae Jemison, right, checks on equipment as Jan Davis squeezes inside a waist-high negative pressure cocoon, Sept. 16, 1992. The device is being tested as a means of overcoming the migration of body fluids to the head and chest in weightlessness. (AP Photo) -
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour share a laugh during the press conference, Sept. 17, 1992. The crew from left to right are payload commander Mark Lee, astronaut Mae Jemison; back row, Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri, flight engineer Jay Apt, astronaut Jan Davis; front row, commander Robert Hoot Gibson, and pilot Curtis Brown., Jr. (AP Photo) -
Astronaut Mae Jemison, wearing a dress by designer Lyn Devon, walks the runway during the Red Dress Heart Truth fashion show during fashion week in New York, Friday Feb. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) -
In this handout photos provided by NASA, Mae C. Jemison, a 32-year-old physician, is the first black female astronaut named for a space shuttle mission. Jemison was among three astronauts named to a June 1991 flight, a weeklong joint endeavor with the Japanese space agency. The mission is dedicated to a series of life sciences and materials processing experiment. Jemison was going through a parachute survival school in this picture made in 1987. (NASA via AP)
After working with the Peace Corps, Jemison opened a private practice as a doctor. However, once Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, Jemison decided to apply to the astronaut program at NASA. She applied in 1985, but after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, NASA took a break from accepting new people. However, Jemison applied again in 1987 and was one of the 15 people chosen out of over 2,000 applications. She was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 12, which was the first group chosen after the Challenger explosion. After being selected, Jemison trained with NASA and worked on projects at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. She received her first mission on September 28, 1989 when she was selected to join the STS-47 crew as a Mission Specialist. On September 12, 1992 Jemison and six other astronauts went into space on the space shuttle Endeavor. This voyage made Jemison the first African American woman in space. The team made 127 orbits around the Earth and returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 20, 1992.
Mae Jemison’s biography as written for the National Women’s History Museum
Jemison has also received multiple awards including being inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Medical Association Hall of Fame, the Texas Science Hall of Fame, and the International Space Hall of Fame.
As an environmental studies professor at Dartmouth College, Jemison focused on sustainability being an element of designs for technologies in both industrialized and developing nations. She served in the Peace Corps, and has founded several technology organizations including The Jemison Group Incorporated.
For more information about Rose-Hulman’s upcoming commencement including streaming video of the event, visit their website here.
